Media Studies A2 By Lydia Hills

RESEARCH- Trailers vs. Teaser trailers- Film Certification

- Marketing Campaigns- Print Media

- Audience Research

PLANNING- Time Management

- My Film Certification- Teaser Trailer Planning

- Poster Planning- Magazine Planning

- Storyboard for Teaser- Layout plan for Poster

- Company Logo- Shooting schedule and plan

EVALUATION- Evaluation Q1- Evaluation Q2- Evaluation Q3- Evaluation Q4

BRIEF: To produce a promotional package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together with a film magazine front cover, featuring the

film and a poster for the film.

The BBFC

The British Board of Film Classification is an independent, non-governmental body which has classified cinema films since it was set up in 1912 and videos/ DVDs since the Video Recordings Act was passed in 1984.

U PG 12A 12 15 18

R18 – only licensed cinemas and sex shops reserve the right to show these films and the viewers must be over 18.

The BBFC protects against discrimination, drugs, horror, imitable behaviour, language, nudity, sex, theme, violence, titles, Photo or pattern sensitivity, motion sickness and reactions to low frequency sound, trailers/advertisements, Public information advertisements/charity advertisements, video games.

Last year, the BBFC cut 5 films.

I will be aiming for a cert 15. As is horror genre and this tends to appeal and be suitable for those over 15.

Company Logo

I decided to call my company LH Productions because my initials are LH and it is easy for people to understand that it is a production company. Below are five styles of fonts that I tried with my company name:

1)Chiller 2)Adobe Caslon Pro Bold 3) Baskerville Old 4)Broadway 5)Elephant

I chose ‘Broadway’ as it is clear and simple and would suit any genre that my company chose to produce. Furthermore, the style looks like a font it is from the 80’s era therefore making my company have age and reliability.

The colour of my company’s logo will depend on the colour of the background but I will ensure that it is always clear and legible

When I used the Mac’s software, the fonts were different so in the end I used the font ‘Bernard MT Condensed’.

LHProductions

LHProduction

s

LHProduction

s

LHProductions

LHProductions

Poster Planning I found that I had many different ideas for my film poster and found it

extremely difficult to choose just one to produce.

My initial idea was to have a black background with a vibrant red heart in the centre. The heart would be a real picture of a heart rather than a cartoon one.

The second idea I had was to have the same design but to have a pile of bright red poker chips in the centre. This was because my film was to be titled The Game.

My third idea was to use the same design and have a large sharp knife with blood on it in the centre.

Due to being stuck with three different ideas that all fit the conventions of the horror genre, I am going to product three different posters and ask a collection of people to answer a questionnaire to decide which poster I wanted to use.

Poster Planning

Here are my three initial posters that I made during the planning stage

Teaser Trailer Planning

In order to think of an idea/plot for my teaser trailer, I made a brainstorm with different heading. These include: costume, setting, genre, character(s), sound, props, camera angles.

I decided that I wanted to create a trailer that included many shots that would entice the audience but leave them not being able to entirely tell what the plot is. This will create ambiguity, mystery and a sense of unknowing.

I also decided not to film much outside when it is dark as I learnt through the preliminary task last year that it is risky as the footage can very easily become grainy. I decided to make sure that I carefully planned the time that I would film in order to avoid this issue.

Teaser Trailer Storyboard

Here are my storyboards. A bigger version is displayed on this link - http://www.flickr.com/photos/72128071@N05/6515489201/in/photostream/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/72128071@N05/6515489281/in/photostream/

Magazine Planning

I planned my magazine cover on paper first. The top design was my initial idea and the bottom one is the idea that I chose to create. Here is a link to a bigger version - http://www.flickr.com/photos/72128071@N05/6515489083/in/photostream

Magazine

Here is a copy of my magazine front cover. A link to my magazine cover is - http://www.flickr.com/photos/72128071@N05/6515406581/in/photostream/

Time Management

In order to keep up to date with the tasks I need to do, I made lists of everything that I needed to do. I also made use of a checklist with everything on it and which week it should be completed on. This made it clear to me on what I needed to do and what was outstanding.

Trailers Vs. Teaser Trailers Teaser trailers are created for primarily for blockbusters to show

the audience what the overall film will be like rather than what the plot is about. This means that they include a lot of action and special effects rather than dialogue and script. This is to attract viewers to watch the film when it is released in cinemas.

Teaser trailers tend to be a lot shorter than theatrical trailers and sometimes do not include any actual footage from the film itself. An example of this is __________. Trailers, however, are normally always made of actual footage from the film as they are made after filming and are usually released shortly before the film comes out. They will usually include an exact date of release whereas teaser trailers tend to include a season rather than a date or do not include one at all.

Typical genres that have teaser trailers are action, thriller and horror. These trailers will include the conventions of the genre and include minimal parts of the storyline, some actors and some include the producer, director or editor.

Print Media Masthead – a masthead is the page of a newspaper or magazine

which list the publisher, editor, advertising rates, etc.

Strapline – slogans that are used in advertising are called straplines.

Cover Line – these are catchy phrases or sentences that are used on the cover of the magazine. (________ENTER EXAMPLE)

Screamer – a screamer is a headline which is very loud and bold. It grabs the attention of the reader.

Billing Block – a billing block is used on posters, DVD covers, etc and it gives information, credits and logos of all the people involved in the making of the film.

Tagline – this is similar to a slogan however differs as a tagline is created for a product brand whereas a slogan in created for a product campaign and can vary depending on the target audience.

Magazine Cover Analysis

.

.

Tagline and website

Title/Name

Main cover line/screamer

Main image

Cover line

Cover line

Image to attract attention

Magazine Cover Analysis

The title of the magazine is in bright red. This catches the eye of the audience as it stands out against the dark background.

The use of capital letters on the ‘Massive Preview Special’ is a focal feature and draws a lot of the attention at first glance.

The background image is of the main character

from the film. This is used to attract the viewers who

like this actor. The blood on his face and shattered

glasses also suggest the genre of the film.

The taboo language here is used as a shock factor

aimed at the reader of the text. The yellow writing

underneath isn’t as bright as the white as it is

informing.

The cover includes the website and tag line

under the header which shows introduces a new

form of media (the internet).

This image is used to help entice more readers in. It means that even if a reader does not like the film on the cover, they know there are others inside which they may like.

“You need to know” is a direct way of talking to the viewers and it makes the reader feel like it is compulsory.

Magazine Cover Analysis

Main Cover Line

Cover Line

Cover Lines.

Subheading

Main Image.

Title/Name

Magazine Cover Analysis

The cover stands out because of the bright colours in the background of the main image.

Johnny Depp is an actor and is seen as a sex symbol to women. He has become a unique selling point for this magazine issue as consumers would buy this purely for the reason of reading about Depp.

This listing is used to draw readers of this media text to read the article mentioned. The plug at the end “and 38 more…” adds a sense of mystery and makes the suspicious readers need to find out what they’re talking about.

This helps to entice even more readers in as it

highlights the names of even more film stars that

will feature in this magazine.

The capital letters used in the sub-heading which is

above the title, is in yellow which distinguishes itself

from the rest of the poster.

The image is clearly showing the audience that it will be a film that is

crazy, and out of this world. This is due the costume, make up and

props. It is quite clear to the audience that this is about Alice In

Wonderland as it is a very well known, old story which many know.

The date, price and issue number are all listed here and as they are in a

small font they don’t draw any attention away from the other objects. The magazine’s website is also here to

direct readers to another form of media in which they can discover even

more about films.

This highlights the fact that you can only read about this film in this magazine which is giving the audience a reason to buy this film magazine over others.

Poster AnalysisThe image of the main actress strongly suggests it’s genre as it is in a very blue and black light rather than bright colours and the emotion of fear/anxiety on the womans face.

The title of the film is in larger letters and a yellow

colour which stand out against the dark main

background image. The font style that has been used is

reflective of the genre due to being cracked.

The billing block includes the names of companies involved, such as: costume designers, make-up artists, editors, directors and producers.

This quote is used to show the name of the director

but also that he has made great films in the past. The

genre is suggested even more by the words ‘master

of shock’.

The marks on the females chest suggest violence and this helps to reinforce the genre and the film’s plot.

The setting appears to be dark and dirty which is often

the setting for a film of this genre. The element of having

something/someone following you is reflected in

this picture by the actor looking back over her

shoulder.

Teaser Trailer Analysis

Saw 3D - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg0go2b3ekY

The Saw 3D effectively uses black screens with lettering/words on throughout the teaser trailer. The words used is linked what is happening in the trailer and gives the audience an insight into what the film is going to be about. Many of the shots used are dark in colour and the trailer is a montage of clips from throughout the film. The music is dramatic and suspenseful and this helps to indicate the genre of the film. The sound hits a climax which mirrors the footage . The release date is shown in the trailer and this is important so that the audience knows when to expect the film. The font used suggests the genre and the use of the colour red also connotates danger and blood.

Teaser Trailer Analysis

American Psycho - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXl3KG3PPYU

This trailer is different to the Saw 3D in that the footage used is a lot lighter in colour. The company logo is present at the beginning of the trailer to inform the audience who made the trailer/film. This trailer also includes the use of visual words on the screen. This appears both with at the bottom of the screen which has footage behind it and also writing on a black title screen. Camera shots such as pans, mid shots, long shots and close ups have been used to create variety.

Poster Analysis – Saw 3D

These posters were used around public areas, on billboards, buses, bus shelters, etc. They are all linked together by the graphics used in the main image with the object exploding and the tag line at the top also links all three.

All three images used a human organ which adds to the viewers expectation of the genre and what the film is about. The same style of writing is used in all three poster which helps to build a ‘brand’ image for the film.

The background colours are plain black or white which makes the central image stands out more. Despite the images appearing to be computer graphics rather than real human organs, the images are very details and this adds to the expectation of a high quality film.

Website Analysis – Saw 3D http://www.saw3dmovie.com/#/Home/

After entering ‘Saw 3D’ into the Google search engine, I discover that there is an official website for the Saw collection which features all of the films and then there is an entirely separate official website just for the release of Saw 3D – the final chapter.

As soon as you open the website you know straight away what it is for. This is because the ‘loading’ image is of a revolving saw which is present in the film/previous films so the viewer knows that they have come to the right place

It then plays an interactive questionnaire of which torture methods/machines you would like to see in the next Saw. Once finished, then there is an option to send it to Twitter or Facebook which is an example of the marketers planning to take the marketing virally. The theatrical trailer plays automatically in order to make viewers want to see the film.

You can download the film posters to use as backgrounds or print out for posters which helps to spread the word about the film. There are also photos on the website of the actors whilst filming and of the director which helps the audience to gain an insight into the film and the filming process before they watch the film.

There are videos on the website which contain teaser trailers, theatrical trailers and trailers to demonstrate the use of 3D in the film. These all make the viewers want to see the film more.

There is an ‘About’ page with a basic overview of the plot and a list of featured cast members. This helps to entice in viewers that have not seen any of the other Saw films as they know what it is about and know who is who in the film.

Saw music is played throughout your time spent on the website which adds mystery, suspense and the sense of thrill. This plays repeated to keep up the atmosphere and to keep the website having a scary feel to it.

The Ride Analysis – Saw 3D Saw 3D also created a rollercoaster rider at Thorpe Park in Surrey in order to promote the

release of Saw 3D – the final chapter.

The ride features of the Thorpe Park website where there is a 360 °interactive video in order to know what to expect and photos of the ride. This makes people want to go on the ride and to find out about the film if they do not already know.

The ride imitates the film in that there is suspenseful music playing whilst you are stood in the crowd and sudden gun shot sounds go off the scare the viewers and to make them jump. The ride is in a warehouse style building and the barriers that for the queue and metal and give the sense of being trapped. The old machinery in the queuing area add suspense and make the person feel like they are actually in the film.

To keep the film fresh and updated, after the ride came the release of a Saw maze. This features real life actors who taunt and scare people as they walk through a maze and try to escape. The maze contains fake blood to build the tension and even contains the smell of real urine to make the person feel totally involved in the film. This is an equally strong marketing campaign as the audience can fully understand and experience the terror and fear of the characters in the film(s). However, the Saw maze may seem to contradict the film as the film has just one master whereas the maze has many scary actors.

Overall I believe it was a successful campaign as it entices people to see the movie but also to get an understanding of what the viewers can expect based on the ride. It is an example of synergy, where Merlin Entertainment Group and the makers of Saw 3D have come together.

Target Audience

‘Definition of Demographics – the attributes of people in a particular geographic area. Used for marketing purposes, ethnic origins, religion, spoken language, income and age range are examples of demographic data.’ – TechEncyclopedia.

Demographics for The Game

Language: English

Ethnicity: Any

Primary Age Range: 15 – 25 (older teens – to younger adults)

Gender: Both genders I am aiming for a 15 certificate. This is because I do not want to have rules and boundaries that are too strict to portray the conventions of a

horror film. Despite deciding what certificate I am aiming for, I should refer to the BBFC guidelines to ensure the restriction of more outrageous footage such as: extreme swearing, nudity, sex, horror, drugs or violent behaviour, etc.

There is no speech in my teaser trailer therefore there are no language barriers that means it couldn’t be used in different languages – only the written titles would need adjusting.

I believe that it will be targeted primarily at British audiences rather than American as it will be shot in England and using actors with British accents. Furthermore, my film does not contain any special effects and is not the typical Blockbuster style that does well with American audiences. However, it is worth considering that Saw 3D – the final chapter made $45,710,178 in America/Canada. This film is, however, part of a film series.

Shooting Schedule & Plan Shooting schedule – When deciding

whether to create a shooting schedule, I decided that I would film in the chronological order of the teaser trailer. This is because I felt that this would minimise continuity errors and also so that I could feel the order of the storyboard and not miss out any filming. I found this very useful as when I watched back my footage before editing, I could get a general feel for how the trailer would look. I decided to film each shot as many times as possible because I can cut clips down/find the best shots during the editing stage but I cannot make clips longer or better without re-filming them which may create continuity errors with things such as lighting or the hairstyle of the character.

Location – the location of my trailer is in Celina’s house and along her road. I have also used the doorstep of three

people that I know that live on the same road. I wanted to film the majority of the trailer inside and wanted a location where I wasn’t bound by the restraints of time. I also took into account the restrictions on having my props in a public space, e.g. the large kitchen knife.

Props – I used many props in my filming which included: a knife, cigarettes, a lighter, a hand-written card, a handbag and a pen and paper. This is because they are a combination of items which you would not expect to see together so do not give away the storyline but still fit the horror genre.

Costume – This is not anything that I need to consider as my character is supposed to be a normal person who is just mentally distressed. The lack of scary costumes and only one actor worked well as I would like to keep a sense of the unknown.

Poster Here is the finished copy of

my film poster for Personal Justice. As you can see it is very similar to my initial drawing phase and the billing block at the bottom of my poster has been made by hand in accordance of the other billing blocks that I have researched. The billing block contains the names of my individual producers and cast. To open a bigger version, please follow this link - http://www.flickr.com/photos/72128071@N05/6515406851/in/photostream

Final Teaser Trailer

Here is a link to my final teaser trailer – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txYaKD1BFok&feature=plcp&context=C2945bUDOEgsToPDskJW_3t9KLYdbRkNpg4NmXb0

Demographics

Before producing my teaser trailer, film poster and film magazine front cover, I asked my prospective audience questions on their film preferences. I did this in order to discover what my audience thought so that I could fit the ideas of my marketing package around their ideal qualities.

Questionnaire Results1) How old are you?

13-15 16-18 19-21 22-25 26-300

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

My results show that 8 out of 10 of the people I asked were aged between 16 and 18. This is ideal as I was aiming my film to be a

15 certification. My target audience was 15 to 25 so it will be helpful to have feedback from the two people who are aged

between 19 and 25.

2) Which of the following is your preferred genre?

romantic 0

rom-com 1

sci-fi 0

horror 6

thriller 3

comedy 0

animation 0

action 0

As you can see, horror and thriller were my target audience’s favourite genres. This is ideal for me as my idea is for a horror-thriller film.

3) Would a teaser trailer entice you enough to go to the cinema and watch the film?

The majority of people answered yes which means that the teaser trailer is a vital part in the marketing package.

yesno

4) Do you like to see the plot in the trailer?

6 people answered yes, however, 4 people answered no. As this is quite an equal split I will include parts of the plot but leave a lot unseen so that a sense of mystery is created.

5) Do you like film posters to be simple or complex?

9 out of 10 people said that they prefer simple film posters. I will take this on board and ensure that my film poster is fairly simple as this is the feedback from my target audience.

yesno simple

complex

Risk Why is it a risk? How can I overcome this risk?

Knife Somebody could get injured whilst using the prop. It is illegal to carry a knife in public.

Nobody will run with the knife. The shot will be calm and sensible to prevent accidents. The knife will be removed from the bag before we go outside.

Cables Cables from lighting and the camera causes a trip hazard.

I will use tape to keep the wires stuck down to the floor to lower the risk of people tripping.

Cigarette (inside)

Smoking inside could cause a fire if not adequately extinguished .

I will ensure that there is an ashtray next to the actress and that as soon as the cigarette is no longer needed, I will ensure that it is put out put filling the ashtray with water.

Risk Assessment

Evaluation Q1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

For a link to my answer to this question, please follow this link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b4T092WL5U&context=C2cdd3ADOEgsToPDskK8hVDAxQGiztM3hTPb8PkG

Evaluation Q2

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts (i.e. magazine cover/poster)?

For my response to this question, please follow this link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKAl0V6dTos&context=C25466ADOEgsToPDskI-kEtWDXjM5ihF6KpBrEAf

Evaluation Q3

What have you leaned from your audience feedback?

For this question, I made graphs to represent my audience feedback.

I have also included the link to the first edit of my teaser trailer to show the progression that my trailer underwent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezNX1-fhMys

Q1) do you think the teaser trailer fits the conventions of a horror/thriller?

I asked this question as it would give me an insight into whether my trailer fitted the right genre. If it didn’t, I would be able to ask what about it doesn’t fit and change it.

As you can see from the graph, 9 people said it did fit the conventions of a horror/thriller and 1 person said it did not.

Q2) rate the editing out of ten

6 27 38 59 1

I asked this question so that I knew how much I needed to improve the editing of my teaser trailer. From this I can see that my editing could be improved.

Q3) how well did the teaser trailer flow in terms of plot, pacing and editing?

This was an open question therefore the answers are not able to be displayed in a graph. However, most people agreed that the general pace near the beginning was slightly slow in comparison to the end. This is something that I changed during the final editing process of my teaser trailer by cutting out some of the lengthy footage that was present at the start.

Q4) do you feel that the trailer gave you an insight into what the film was about?

This was another open question therefore the answers are not able to be displayed in a graph. Many people understood the general theme but felt that my teaser trailer would benefit from having some title screens in to help my audience to understand the plot. This led me to add in title slides that suggested the plot without fully giving the story away.

Q5) rate the use of camera shots out of ten

Q5) what did you think of only having one character in the trailer?

This question would give me help on knowing whether I have used a good variety of interesting shots. The results clearly show that the use of camera shots is marked highly and therefore I didn’t need to re-film any of my trailer.

6 17 28 29 5

The general feeling was that the use of one character in my trailer was effective. One person said ‘excellent use of one character. We know that it centres around her – we know what to expect.’ I found this question useful as I found out that I didn’t need to add any other characters into my trailer.

Q8) is the trailer similar to others of the genre that you have seen?

I asked this question as it would suggest whether my trailer fitted in with other in regard to forms and conventions. 9 people said that it was similar and 1 person said that it wasn’t. This told me that my trailer suited the genre well and so re-filming wasn’t necessary

Q8) any improvements or comments?

The main themes were:• Add appropriate sound• Increase the pace at the start• Smoother editing my adding

more transitions• Add title slides to indicate plot

After these comments, I changed my teaser trailer by adding sound, taking out some footage from the beginning and adding in transitions. I also included some black title slides and added in the word ‘kill’ in red to further connotate love and danger.

Evaluation Q4

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

To watch my video response to this question,. Please follow this link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMChEPg0P4c&context=C25466ADOEgsToPDskI-kEtWDXjM5ihF6KpBrEAf